We all know that the home country of horse-racing is Ireland. Not only is the sport of kings kind of a national sport there, if you’re still having doubts check out the list of Cheltenham Festival winners, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Ireland is also home to the world most famous stud (Coolmore Stud).

In this respect, it is only natural that one of the world’s most famous online racebooks be based in Ireland as well. While the license of the online racebook was issued in the Isle of Man, Paddy Power remains a traditionally Irish venue, with a history stretching back all the way to 1988.Paddy Power is in fact a brick and mortar company which operated sports betting through a chain of licensed offices all through Ireland in the past, and via telephone (Paddy Power dial-a-bet).

Going online and exploiting the tremendous possibilities there, was a natural continuation of the company’s evolution, which is now listed on both the Irish and London stock exchanges. This is certainly not one of them dime-a-dozen companies that only have an online presence and nothing to back it up. That should certainly mean something for players in terms of security and fairness, especially since Paddy Power is a prime advocate of gambling rooted in leisure and entertainment, one that has also made it its mission to make risk based entertainment accessible to the everyday man.While in the beginning Paddy Power was a race- and a sportsbook in the strict sense of the word, nowadays it has expanded into more exotic domains as well, like betting on politics, live sports betting (betting on games while they’re running), betting on TV events, and it has even created a product of its own (Lucky Numbers) which it operates in close collaboration with the British and Irish national lotteries.Its online presence is not limited to small stakes fixed odds sports and race betting either. Paddy Power operates an online casino, as well as an online poker room.

Featured in German and in Spanish too, www.paddypower.com is much more than a simple online bookmaker. It offers odds to the widest selection of sports out there as well as reviews and guides to make it easier for the casual bettor to catch on to the flow of the action.It offers odds for Horse-racing, Rugby Union, Football, Financials, Tennis, Golf, Snooker, Darts, Athletics, politics, Pool, Motor racing, UFC, Boxing, Cycling, Winter-sports, Ice-hockey, Basketball, Poker and American football. There are odds and lines for other sports as well, and chances are, no matter what an illusive and unpopular sport you’re a fan of, you’ll get the chance to bet on it at Paddy Power. Most online sportsbooks lag behind in this respect, but the wide selection of sports and other activities offered for betting is Paddy Power’s main selling point.Paddy Power’s online presence is powered by Playtech, via the iPoker network, which is a virtual guarantee of fairness and safety. Their software is available in both a downloadable and flash format

If you sign up to their online racebook, you’ll receive a first deposit bonus as well, which is a 100% match on your money right up to a max of 10 British Pounds or Euros, depending on which currency you used to deposit.

Besides the above mentioned bonus they also feature money back specials as well as extra bonuses on horse-racing and greyhound races.For those players who become regulars, Paddy Power also offers a loyalty program.

EUR and GPBs are both accepted for wagering, as for deposit and withdrawal methods, you can use Neteller, Moneybookers, MasterCard, VISA, Switch, Western Union, as well as Solo and Cashier’s Check.